1. Field of the Invention
This application relates broadly to fishing equipment. More particularly, it concerns outrigger systems for use in association with motor boats, especially the center console type fitted with so-called T-Tops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In sportsfishing operations, a conventional procedure is to troll fishing lines astern of the fishing boat from outrigger devices that hold the lines spaced apart a sufficient distance to prevent them from becoming entangled with one another due to the movement of the boat or the action of the sea
Typically, each outrigger device includes an elongated tubular unit, e.g., 10-30 ft. long, having its inboard end fastened in some manner to the fishing boat so that it can be moved from a stowage position while the boat is not actually engaged in fishing, i.e., underway to or from the fishing grounds, to a trolling position while the boat is engaged in fishing.
On large, offshore type sportsfishing boats, the outrigger devices are typically of the tubular, cabletrussed, mast type pivoted by their inboard ends upon a vertical portion of the cabin or other boat superstructure and have associated boom elements to enable the outrigger to be firmly held in the stowage or trolling position while permitting easy movement between such separated positions (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,050).
On smaller fishing boats, often powered by outboard motors, the outrigger devices are less complicated than the tubular mast type used on the offshore, sportsfishing boats. Typically, such outriggers comprise only a single piece of tubing, often tapered, pivoted by the inboard end to the gunwale or equivalent horizontal surface of the boat (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,259).
One style of the smaller fishing boats that is very popular with sportfishermen, because the layout of such boats provides a large area of cockpit sole for use by boat occupants during fishing, is the so-called "center console" type. This style of fishing boat is frequently equipped, either as original equipment or as a retrofit, with a superstructure for protection against sun and weather, called T-Tops, because they consist of canopy top held aloft typically with upright tubular supports fixed to the center console.
When used for fishing, T-Top style boats are frequently equipped with outriggers. Prior to this present invention, such outriggers have been structured in a manner that has required the boat occupants to reach over the top of the T-Top in order to manipulate the outriggers to move them from a stowage to a trolling position, or vis versa. This typically requires such person to stand on the gunwale or like superstructure of the boat in a relatively unsafe position, particularly if the boat is operating in rough sea conditions. In spite of the obvious shortcoming of the existing forms of outrigger devices for T-Top style boats, boat operators have continued to abide with them due to lack of better systems.
In addition to T-Top motorboats, other motorboats having various types of tops, canopies or the like have been equipped with outriggers in an manner that has required boat occupants to reach over the top or like covering in order to manipulate the outriggers. The present invention addresses this problem and provides the art with new forms of outrigger devices for use with T-Top or other covered motorboats that eliminate such problem. For the sake of brevity in disclosing and claiming the invention, the text will refer specifically to T-Tops and T-Top motorboats, but it is to be understood that the invention is capable of use with other types of motorboats and that use of the invention on such other motorboats is intended to be covered.